What exactly does "TWC came in cut off HD chanel"? When Time Warner took over from Comcast in your city did you lose HD channels? Because that's not what happened to me when Time Warner replaced Comcast.

Perhaps he's talking about The NFL Channel HD, which had hardly any HD on it anyway.

What exactly does "TWC came in cut off HD chanel"? When Time Warner took over from Comcast in your city did you lose HD channels? Because that's not what happened to me when Time Warner replaced Comcast.

One of the inhd is gone for good... I heard our local fox is going down soon...

Boss lady called back, appology for the mistake. She didn't blame on the call i didn't answer (which i never received) but insisted the tech dude saying my area have dual system and CC will not work. (that's new, but gotto find more excuses right?)

I told her my box and outlet suggesting that i have single system and will work just fine. If they refuse to come, i will install it myself and if they refused both, I will pursue legally. She was persistant but confirmed my area is single system after a fact check. She offered to waive $15 buck for the mistake and i took it. Good thing i don't have to wait another week for the MIT installation team but do need 2 days to get the open slot. Self Installtion was again refused. By the way, she knew TIVo dual channels DVR...which is a good thing i guess.

but insisted the tech dude saying my area have dual system and CC will not work. (that's new, but gotto find more excuses right?)

This is true for 40% off the Dallas Metro area. Most of Dallas, Richardson, Plano, and Mesquite are configured for a dual (A/B) system. Time Warner Cable is in the process of upgrading the infastructure in these areas to a single line system, like most of the surrounding cities. The first cities to be converted over will be Richardson & Plano and then Dallas/Mesquite. There are some cases with newer apartment complexs and the like, which were built with just a single line in those areas. Hopefully this is your case b/c installations on a dual line system can be difficult. So, I wish you good luck. If that's the case

As far as loss of channels, inHD2 was dropped, along with the NFL Network. Hopefully soon we will see HDNet as its carried on other Time Warner system within Texas.

Sorry to hear about your tech missing your appoinment and that is something that TWC is working towards decreasing with hiring more inhouse techs.

The change to TWC will be a big improve for the area. There is alot of things happening behind the scenes to improve the overall experience for our customers and that will show in the coming months!

This could easily be the longest post on the thread even if I do it at a summary level. End result: I got my cards installed Sunday PM. All is not perfect with one of the two cards, but good enough for the time being.

Attempt 1 I called TWC 2 weeks ago (prior to S3 arrival). TWC: "Blah blah blah, no problem in fact you can go to a branch office and pick the cards up so you don't have to pay for an install" Me: "Can I pick them up at your central office (Morrisville) which is a few miles from where I work" TWC: "No but you can pick them up in Durham." OK, so I make arrangements for my wife to go there. She goes there (last Monday) waits in line, they tell her no and are rather abusive with her in saying so. I talk to them while she is there (by cell phone) and they are likewise abusive with me, probably a little less so. Wifes leaves rather frustrated and upset she wasted almost 2 hours.

Call up TWC again. Talk nicely with them, explain frustration. Get a $20 credit for our wasted time. Schedule an install for Thurs and convince them it should be only one install charge for the two cards since they are going into the same device (I say it has two tuners... don't even mention that it is a Tivo)

Attempt 2 Install supposed to be AM. Wife rearranges her day. Call early AM, "should be there early". 11:00 call back TWC: "should be there in next few mins". 12:00 still no TWC, so my wife calls back. TWC: "was just there and no body was home". No way. Wife goes to front door, there was a scribbled note. The guy had just left it and ran without ringing the doorbell. Wife was on 1st floor (no TV there) and would have heard doorbell or knock. Surprised that she didnt even hear car door.

Attempt 3 Wife is very angry, but can't stick around all day. I call back to TWC @ 12:30 to see what they can do. They agree to send someone that PM. I come home from work early (3:00) and wait. And wait. Call back @ 5:00 for ETA TWC "They will be there today". I cancel dinner out with family. Still nobody. I call back @ 7:00, CSR talks with dispatcher who talks with the same tech who ran away in the AM... he promises that he will be there by end of the day. I call back at 9:00 and am told same thing. When I call at 10:00, they say that he isn't answering his cell and agree that he has blown off the appointment. CSR just volunteers for me to speak with a supervisor. (Key is to talk very nice with them and explain the comedy of the pathetic situation). Supervisor schedules me for a Sunday afternoon install and waives the install charge.

Attempt 4 Nice tech arrives on time with the cards. Says they do one only every 6 months or so... and that TWC CSRs don't have a clue about what to do with them. Agrees that his side of it is easy and it is really a matter of the CSR knowing what they are doing. Of course he has never seen a S3, but the nice instructions from Tivo make it appear really simple. Agrees to let me drive the remote (not that I even asked his permission). Install 1st card & calls in. Gets a clueless TWC CSR and quickly hangs up. Waits and redials. Gets someone who has heard of cable cards. Gives her the S/N, MAC & host ID info. He installs second card while waiting. Tivo eventually reports error on first card. Gives TWC info on 2nd card. We remove 1st (needed pliers to do it) and put in another. He says that over 2/3 of the cards he gets are bad. Luckily the 3rd card works (since he only brought 3). Elapsed time with tech installer: about 30 mins.

Card 2 is not fully working... it gets all channels (including HD) except Discovery HD, TNT HD and all 10 HBO channels. I will leave that issue for another day. I pray and presume that they just need to correct something remotely.

Tivo aspect of it all was absolutely as smooth as could be. TWC about as painful as could be. I've actually understated and skipped many of the calls and long on hold times.

I absolutely love the S3 and am oh so glad to be rid of my TWC HD DVR.

Well, wish me luck. We're moving from NoVA back to Cary, NC and from D* back to Cable. I've got two new S3's to get setup at my install next Wednesday. To the CSR taking my order's credit, she didn't bat an eye when I said I'd need a total of four cable cards for two devices. We'll see how the actual install goes...

Well, the CSR called back to confirm the install and tell me that there will be a $43/device charge to install them. I balked a bit and said "You're just sliding a card into a slot.." She says, "But they have to program them..." Puh-lease... you have to "program" a cable box too.

I'd have thought they'd have waived that since it was a new install and I'm getting their full bundle (CATV/Internet/Phone) but no. I figured I might as well try the phone service since I wrote quite a bit of the software on the product they're using to provide it...

This is true for 40% off the Dallas Metro area. Most of Dallas, Richardson, Plano, and Mesquite are configured for a dual (A/B) system. Time Warner Cable is in the process of upgrading the infastructure in these areas to a single line system, like most of the surrounding cities. The first cities to be converted over will be Richardson & Plano and then Dallas/Mesquite. There are some cases with newer apartment complexs and the like, which were built with just a single line in those areas. Hopefully this is your case b/c installations on a dual line system can be difficult. So, I wish you good luck. If that's the case

I am in Richardson and the changeover to single line is supposed to happen sometime in the next 2-3 weeks. My S3 is due later this week but I'll wait until the change to get CC's installed.
However, I am using a CC in my current TV and it works on the A/B system with only the A-side connected. You do lose all of the analog channels carried on the B-side. With the change, most of the analog stuff will also be carried in digital as well and I am looking forward to getting a mostly digital experience even for SD from the S3 and avoiding the quality loss (even at HIGH quality on my S2) from encoding analog content.

After calling in and being told I can pick the CableCard's up at either TW office, I headed out the day the Tivo arrived to pick them up only to be told I had to have an installer come out. While setting up the appointment the rep asked me if it was for an S3 tivo and when I confirmed she said she had just gotten 2 herself

Friday afternoon installer arrives and had never done a CableCard install, tried handing him the sheet from the Tivo and he glanced at it but didn't read and proceeded to pop the first card in slot 2, then after the page came up and he wrote the info down popped the next card in slot 1. After calling in they had him pop both cards out and redo the install.

After getting the info from slot 1, the person on the phone said it would take 20 minutes for all the channels to download and to call back when they've finished. I asked him how we would know they finished and he said there wouldn't be an indication, but just to call back in 20.

The installer left to another job nearby and came back 45 minutes later, inserted the second card and called it's info in. For a while the 2nd card seemed to be ok, but Card 1 on the "CP Information" screen still shows "Auth Status: Waiting for CP Auth" so it appears something didn't work right. I called back about this, and while on the phone with them went to check the info on Card 2 and while it showed as "inserted" I could no longer get to the menu for it, but instead got the message "CableCARD 2 is not in normal operation". Card 2 did go through a firmware upgrade late Friday after I was off the phone w/ the help desk, so was hoping that would fix the issue but it never did and Card 2 still shows as not in operation.

The funny thing is, both tuners appear to be working and I'm getting most of the channels on both including all analog, free digital, local HD's. I don't have any premium channels, so the only ones I'm not getting are the rest of the HD's like Discovery HD, TNT HD, etc. I have an appt scheduled for Tuesday morning and they will probably re-install. Hopefully the installer will have done CC installs before but if not I've learned a lot more about these installs from the messages here so hopefully can walk him through it.

p.s. The installer was a nice enough guy, but he had never had experience with any of this equipment before. I understand the S3's are new but CableCard's have been around for awhile now and there's no excuse for TimeWarner not training these guys how they work and how to install them.

p.p.s The tech just came by for the re-install. Fortunately he was a TW employee and knew what he was doing. As I suspected, Card 2 had died after receiving the firmware update and Card 1 wasn't even on my account. He remarried Card 1 and installed a new card for #2 and I'm now getting all the channels expected.

After reading some of the comments in this thread about TW-Austin and the switched digital video channels I had expected not to receive any of those but I just went to ch 232 (which is National Geographic and as I understand it the only channel that doesn't offer an analog equivalent so I was gonna be pretty bummed about losing it) and it works fine. It wasn't working over the weekend so apparently it is encrypted and just requires the card to be authorized. I also get the music channels which for some reason I wasn't expecting to. So the only thing I am not receiving now is the PPV and VOD channels, which I was fully aware I would be losing. I was wondering if I would receive PPV movies if I order them via the STB or phone, but since I never order PPV am not to concerned about it.

May be someone from TWC here can explain why they insist on having a tech came out here to hand us the cards. Majority of them don't know jack about Cable card, yet they ask for installation fee.

I'm sure the MIT engineers have much important job to do, for instance, set up new account. . If existing customer willing to perform self installation, let them pick up the cards. There's no programming need to be done by the tech on the site, we are more than capable to read the code and call for initilization.

Everything ended up great yesterday when we were all done. Even with the issues throughout the day, I ended the day with two working CableCard's and all channels.

Here's what I can say for those who aren't getting all the channels (I wasn't getting DiscoveryHD, TNT, HBO's or a bunch of other channels). When my first cablecard didn't work, the tech called the head end (for those that don't know what a head end is, it's where the cable provider's termination equipment is) directly and had them "run an update script". Within minutes, all my channels were there. The second Cablecard got installed and the same channels were missing. Once again, a call to the head end and a "run of the update script" solved the issue. I now get all channels on both cards. I don't know if this will help.

I asked them to tell me specifically what the head end here in the Albany NY area did to provision the cards correctly and they couldn't, or wouldn't, tell me. All I can say is that if your tech has problems, the number here in Albany for customer facing customer service is 518.869.5500. Perhaps if your local tech explains who they are and asks to speak to field service or the head end they may be able to get through...

With the way the techs were talking about "the impending discontinuation of cablecards within Time Warner" I am concerned, but the FCC does mandate their existence. I just wonder what has to be specifically supported on them - all normal programming? Or just a basic set of channels? I swear everyone I spoke to at Time Warner acted as if Cablecards were going away within days. I had to explain the FCC mandate for them to realize why they existed.

May be someone from TWC here can explain why they insist on having a tech came out here to hand us the cards. Majority of them don't know jack about Cable card, yet they ask for installation fee.

I'm sure the MIT engineers have much important job to do, for instance, set up new account. . If existing customer willing to perform self installation, let them pick up the cards. There's no programming need to be done by the tech on the site, we are more than capable to read the code and call for initilization.

Seriously - I actually trained the TW tech yesterday on how to install the Tivo and troubleshoot cablecard issues. I should be charging THEM back, yet I still have to pay an ~$20 install fee!

Great news Labatt!!
I heard from someone else in Latham who experience problems so maybe he'll see your post.

My tech really didn't know much about TiVo or FCC regulations. All he had to do was call in my Host ID and I did the rest.
Before my install I wrote to a family friend who is one of our Albany tech's. He sent me the message below. I suspect it's the typical attitude from their end.

Quote:

As to the tivo w/ cable card issue: We will support it. As with any tv that has a cable card installed in it, the install MUST be done by a time warner tech (no 3rd party contractors as far as I can tell).

A couple of things on the cable card, though:
There are no reverse functions, so no ordering of _ANYTHING_ (movies, ppv, channels, etc...)
no video on demand
the support provided by time warner assumes that it was installed correctly, so from there we just make sure there is signal to the card, then ask you to unplug/plug it in... after that, we have to send a tech.

Unfortunately, some of the channels that people were able to once get with cable card, are not available anymore on cable card because of the way we are transmitting the signal.

All the above issues should be fixed with the next generation cable card that will support two-way communication, unfortunately, anything that is made for cable card 1, will not take cable card 2(this means that anyone who wants to use the new version of the cable card whenever it is released will need to buy a new tv or in this case, tivo v 4.0{I'm guessing})

I am copy/pasting the letter sent out to all the current cable card customers below which better explains the channel issue.
Personally, i wouldn't suggest making a purchase of tivo v 3.0 until there is more feedback or, until the new cable cards are released and there is a tivo that takes them, but as i know this is purely for the "techieness" and coolness factor, enjoy and tell me how it works out

So, it appears they feel the cableCARD v1 is useless.
I posted the letter sent to local TW customers at http://billpstudios.blogspot.com/200...nst-cable.html but so far the letter isn't accurate. It says we'll be losing all the premium pacific channels but I still have them all.

This could easily be the longest post on the thread even if I do it at a summary level. End result: I got my cards installed Sunday PM. All is not perfect with one of the two cards, but good enough for the time being.

I absolutely love the S3 and am oh so glad to be rid of my TWC HD DVR.

I just moved from Raleigh down to near Greensboro. The SA8300 I had in Raleigh was a PLEASURE compared to the one I have in Greensboro. Raleigh uses Passport, Greensboro uses Sara. I freaked out when I first turned it on. Awful...just awful. I've had some good techs in the Raleigh area and some bad ones. I fought a signal issue for a long time and finally got a really good tech out to help me.

Unfortunately, I'm scared about my install on Thursday here in Whitsett. I kid you not.... When they came out to do our initial install in April it took them two hours for two standard boxes and a DVR. One standard box was taking a long time to sync up so the guy unhooks it to do something. My wife says "It's going to have to start over now." and the guy answers, no kidding, "No, these update their info OVER THE AIR.". Good lord. I'm doomed.

My tech really didn't know much about TiVo or FCC regulations. All he had to do was call in my Host ID and I did the rest.

The only reason we talked about it was to pass the couple of hours of sitting around waiting for the stuff to work. He was interested in the S3 because his Dad loves this stuff - so he was scoping it out for him

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillP Studios

Before my install I wrote to a family friend who is one of our Albany tech's. He sent me the message below. I suspect it's the typical attitude from their end.
So, it appears they feel the cableCARD v1 is useless.

That's the great thing about the Tivo. Since the west coast channels just repeat what the east coast channels show 3 hours earlier (I believe this is correct), as long as we can continue to record our east coast channels we're fine! I am continuing to rent a basic digital STB from TW so I can get the two way services though. We sometimes use the movies on demand.

I am continuing to rent a basic digital STB from TW so I can get the two way services though. We sometimes use the movies on demand.

Same here. I have one of my TiVo's S2's connected to one of their Digital Boxes so that way I can record non-Basic content and Premium channels. That way I can use it to copy it to my other TiVo's or burn things on a DVD.

Hopefully, we'll soon get the capability to at least copy TO the S3 from our other S2 systems. That shouldn't break what ever CableCARD regulations that prevent the S3 from having TiVoToGo available.

Bill

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BillP Studios

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Can anyone with Time Warner NYC (manh, brooklyn or queens) who has WORKING CableCards in their Series 3 already PM or email me so I can get some info from you that might help get mine working properly? It's been 2 weeks and TW still can't get my cards to receive anything but the basic local channels (the nbc/cbs/abc/fox locals on 2/4/5/7 and 702/704/705/707 for HD). Other channels, like TNT, Comedy Central, Nick, etc and my premiums channels just give me black screens with no video or audio. Every now and then I'll check one of the non-working channels and i'll get an image for a split second and then that image freezes, but the local channels work when I switch the channel again. My old TW standard digital cable box is receiving all the channels it should (basic and standard and extended tiers + hbo, sho and max) when I switch inputs. Signal strength according to TiVo's gauge is 97 or higher - even on the channels where I get no programming, only black screen.

I've had 2 techs, 1 foreman and had the cards themselves swapped 2x already. The host IDs match every time they call the check them again. I've got TWCNYC's Public Affairs department involved now because I got sick and tired of having people promise to call me back with answers and never doing so and the public affairs people have been great in that they sincerely seem to want to help but all I keep hearing is that their IT Dept is looking into it and they don't see where there's a problem on their end.

This seems to me like a problem specifically with the account authorization (in fact the cablecard cp screen still says Auth in Progress for each card and there is still no RF IP address for either card) but no one can find out exactly what is wrong.

The channels that I do get are gorgeous of course

I figure if I can speak with someone who already has theirs setup with Time Warner NYC I can perhaps have them look at how that account is setup and figure out what is different about mine that makes it NOT work!

Can anyone with Time Warner NYC (manh, brooklyn or queens) who has WORKING CableCards in their Series 3 already PM or email me so I can get some info from you that might help get mine working properly? It's been 2 weeks and TW still can't get my cards to receive anything but the basic local channels (the nbc/cbs/abc/fox locals on 2/4/5/7 and 702/704/705/707 for HD). Other channels, like TNT, Comedy Central, Nick, etc and my premiums channels just give me black screens with no video or audio. Every now and then I'll check one of the non-working channels and i'll get an image for a split second and then that image freezes, but the local channels work when I switch the channel again. My old TW standard digital cable box is receiving all the channels it should (basic and standard and extended tiers + hbo, sho and max) when I switch inputs. Signal strength according to TiVo's gauge is 97 or higher - even on the channels where I get no programming, only black screen.

I've had 2 techs, 1 foreman and had the cards themselves swapped 2x already. The host IDs match every time they call the check them again. I've got TWCNYC's Public Affairs department involved now because I got sick and tired of having people promise to call me back with answers and never doing so and the public affairs people have been great in that they sincerely seem to want to help but all I keep hearing is that their IT Dept is looking into it and they don't see where there's a problem on their end.

This seems to me like a problem specifically with the account authorization (in fact the cablecard cp screen still says Auth in Progress for each card and there is still no RF IP address for either card) but no one can find out exactly what is wrong.

The channels that I do get are gorgeous of course

I figure if I can speak with someone who already has theirs setup with Time Warner NYC I can perhaps have them look at how that account is setup and figure out what is different about mine that makes it NOT work!

Thanks in advance to anyone who hears my plea

Black screen sounds kind of unusual. Usually, if you're not pulling in a picture or are not authorized for a channel you get a grey screen. This may sound like your TV not displaying the picture it's being given. HDMI/DVI connection?

Have you tried an analog connection to your TV, like using the S-Video connection first and then moving up from there.

Got our Series 3 last Friday; TWC came a half hour late on Saturday. The installer did have the 2 cablecards we ordered. He did not even know what a Tivo was, and was confused as to why we had ordered 2 cards when we already had them in our TVs. During this time, he is talking to a friend on his bluetooth phone stuck in his right ear canal. We handed him the Tivo instruction sheet that came with the unit, but he insisted he never followed "their directions." "I thought you had never worked with a Tivo unit before." "That's right." "Then how come you refuse to follow their directions?" He installed both cards without going through the requested procedure. Only 1 of the cards works as far as getting all the HD channels; The one in Tuner 2 does not get the high def tier - 930 thru 950. He says it must be the Tivo unit but refused to switch the cards to check if it was the card or the unit. "I can't do that." He did not require a credit card and another tech is supposed to come back tomorrow to "fix" the problem. TWC is charging us $50 per card for the install and $1.75 per month per card. Oh, Lord, when will TWC train their technicians in the field of cablecards?

I'm in Los Angeles and had TWC (formerly Comcast) install last Friday (09/22/06). I got the last two CableCARDs in the area apparently. The installer followed the TiVo instructions and stayed on the phone with the various technical agents until both cards were recognizing all of the channels. It went really well for me and I am enjoying all of the HD programming now.

Can anyone with Time Warner NYC (manh, brooklyn or queens) who has WORKING CableCards in their Series 3 already PM or email me so I can get some info from you that might help get mine working properly? It's been 2 weeks and TW still can't get my cards to receive anything but the basic local channels . . .

You can call 311 to complain to the city's Cable Service Office at the Department for Information Technology. Good luck!

Black screen sounds kind of unusual. Usually, if you're not pulling in a picture or are not authorized for a channel you get a grey screen. This may sound like your TV not displaying the picture it's being given. HDMI/DVI connection?

Have you tried an analog connection to your TV, like using the S-Video connection first and then moving up from there.

It's not the TV. I have connections on Component (2 component inputs - the old tivo + cable box + the dvd player), S-video (my iPod video) and also tested the DVD player on the HDMI port and DVI as well (same cables even to be sure it wasn't a cable problem).

We've had the TV for over a year and there's not a thing wrong with it.

Last week I received my Series 3 and immediately called TWC to schedule an install. Earliest available was today (Tuesday 9/26). I carefully explained to the CSR on the phone that I needed two CableCARDs. He explained that I wouldn't be able to do PPV or VOD with CableCARD devices, I said that was fine and we proceeded with the order. After a few minutes I had my new total for monthly service. Going with two CableCARDs instead of the 8000HD DVR resulted in a net decrease of $13 per month. CableCARDs are apparently $1/mo per card. Emminently reasonable!

Fast-forward to today, installers arrive at 12:30 for a 11AM-2PM install window and disaster strikes immediately. Installers are sub-contractors for TWC, not actual TWC technicians. Installer #1 asks me, literally, "What do you want us to do?" Installer #2 shows me the work order that says "Install two (2) CableCARDs" and then asks, "what do the cards look like? Is it for a computer?"

Turns out the subs have NO IDEA what CableCARD is or how you're supposed to install them. Not their fault that they haven't been trained and were sent out on a call without the equipment, although it clearly stated on the work order that they needed two cards. I tell them that if they can get the cards I'm sure I can help them install the cards. I confirm that they have my phone number and off they go to see if they can find some cards.

In the meantime I call TWC, livid, and receive an on-time service guarantee credit for my next bill. The installers and their supervisor call me back about 40 minutes later and inform me that they have no CableCARDs at their location. I point out that I'm not blaming them, clearly dispatch screwed the pooch but that this reflects very poorly on TWC and is decidedly bush league.

The supervisor swears up and down that they'll bring me *a* card tomorrow morning, "first thing." I point out that I in fact ordered and require *two* cards and they then confirm that I'll receive two cards first thing tomorrow around 8:30 in the morning. I'll report back my anticipated fury when that doesn't happen tomorrow.

Recap - I have two S3s. First one had cablecards installed and provisioned without a hitch. Still working fine.

The second S3 had cards installed, but never provisioned correctly. I receive standard channels (1-99) and local HD, but do not receive digital tier (110-200) and premium HD like HBOHD, DiscoveryHD, etc.

I have had TWC out at my house 5 times and they have replaced 10 cable cards on my second S3 trying to resolve the issue.

What we have learned from all of this is that the problem lies with the provisioning that is done back at the "central office". The nice thing about having one S3 working and one not is that I was able to swap the two and confirm that the issue is NOT with my line, cable,wiring, signal strength, signal quality,etc.

The sympton is consistent. I get all of the standard cable channels (1-109), and the local HD channels. This is because these channels do not require any provisioning to receive (Any TV with a digital tuner can get these). The problem channels are the digital tier 110-200 and premium channels like HBOHD, DiscoveryHD etc. In the 5 various attempts to fix my second S3 I have at times received the premium channels like HBOHD, but when they would re-provision later I would loose them. I have never been able to get the digitial tier on the second S3.

My current status is that they are going to repovision again, but they have to wait for some server to "reset" this evening before it can do it...something about flushing out the old IDs with the new one...tech not very clear on this. Supposedly tomorrow I should have it reprovisioned and working...I am not holding my breath.

So my theory is that all the cablecard issues that center around receiving some but not all channels (especially the digital tier or premium HD) is because they are not properly configuring the provisioning data. To get it resolved you have to find the right internal person who understands and knows how to provision the cards correctly. I am still searching for this elusive person.

besposito- could you please get it ironed out before my dual S3 install next Wednesday?

And, if their provisioning/authenitcation system is ANYTHING like the ones I used in our old lab for setting up CTMs for doing VoIP testing, I can believe they're a pain to get setup just right. Sometimes it would show the same data for two end-points- except where they were supposed to differ- one working one not and it could come down to the order you set them up.

Can anyone with Time Warner NYC (manh, brooklyn or queens) who has WORKING CableCards in their Series 3 already PM or email me so I can get some info from you that might help get mine working properly?

got mine installed this morning. the cards were authenticated right away, but none of the encrypted channels worked. I came home this afternoon and pulled out the cards, put em back in again. Called TWC and they said to wait until tomorrow morning and see if it works then. While I was on the phone the channels started working.

Before, it was saying "Waiting for EMMs" or something like that on the CP screen in the cablecard menu. That has cleared up and ECD: now has a number after it. I'm sure you can tell i have no idea what all that means...

Strangely, I was on the DTValue plan, and I'm getting channels I'm not supposed to have, like TNTHD, discoveryHD, and Bravo, and not getting a few channels I should. I feel like i've come out ahead though, so i won't be calling them about it unless they've upgraded my package without telling me (wouldn't put it past them).

Myth: "X% of cablecards are bad...we just have to keep trying new ones until we get the right one"
Truth: Everytime they replace the cards, they have to reprovision them. Sooner or later the right person configures the provisoning data correctly and when it is sent everything works. Its the old "even a blind squirrel finds a nut sooner or later" theory

Myth: Some of the cablecards we get arent programmed properly when we get them so they dont work. We just have to keep trying new ones until we get one that is.
Truth: See myth above.

Myth: The signal to your Tivo is too low/high/too-much-interference/too-much-signal-noise ratio and that is why you can get some channels.
Truth: While the above could cause problems like channels or audio dropping or breaking up at times...it is not going to cause all of the standard channels and localHD to work perfectly and the digital tier / premium HD to not appear at all.

Myth: It will take a few hours for all of your channels to appear, but it should start working by tomorrow.
Truth: The tech is tired of sitting around and nothing working and so by telling you this he can get on to his next call and let someone else worry about it tomorrow when it still doesnt work.

Myth: Cablecard installs are so complicated that they need to send a tech to your house to make it work.
Truth: The install is easy. The provisioning back at the central office is complicated and a significant percentage of the engineers in the central office dont have a clue how to troubleshoot or properly provision the cablecards.

So my theory is that all the cablecard issues that center around receiving some but not all channels (especially the digital tier or premium HD) is because they are not properly configuring the provisioning data. To get it resolved you have to find the right internal person who understands and knows how to provision the cards correctly. I am still searching for this elusive person.

It would probably never happen, but you should request that your group contact the Albany NY region Time Warner group (518.869.5500). I had a similar problem (channel provisioning was incorrect) and they were able to solve the problem within 20 minutes. Some engineer at their head-end knows what they're doing. Good luck!